I'll say this for Wikipedia - it's quick (and thorough). This was up within hours....

I could add to the mass of reaction to the bombings in London, but I'll restrain myself. I don't think I would say anything useful or insightful and I would well risk sounding patronising. However, a Pogues song has been running through my head all day- and Shane MacGowan manages to capture an image of London that is at once brutally unsentimental and yet tenderly loving of the city. *shrug* Make of it what you will - but it's certainly a London I recognise - and one that is unlikely to change.

London You're a Lady

Ah London you're a ladyLaid out before my eyesYour heart of gold it pulsesBetween your scarred up thighsYour eyes are full of sadnessRed busses skirt your hemYour head-dress is a ring of lightsBut I would not follow themYour architects were madmenYour builders sane but drunkAmong your faded jewelsShine acid house and punk

You are a scarlet ladyYour streets run red with bloodOh my darling they have used youAnd covered you with mudIt was deep down in your womb my loveI drank my quart of sinWhile chinamen played cards and draughtsAnd knocked back mickey finns

Your piss is like a riverIts scent is beer and ginYour hell is in the summerAnd you blossom in the springSeptember is your purgatoryChristmas is your heavenAnd when the stinking streets of summerAre washed away by rainAt the dark end of a lonely streetThat's where you lose your pain'Tis then your eyes light up my loveAnd sparkle once again